Happy Women’s Herstory Month

It’s the end of March, the month that honors women’s history or, as some women like to say, herstory.

Many female elders remember school-days history books as records of men’s achievements, honors and glory. The best-known role-model-type women eligible for herstory studies that I can remember from my childhood, other than movie stars, were Eleanor Roosevelt, presidential wife and social activist; Babe Didrikson Zaharias, sportswoman/golfer; Amelia Earhart, pilot/adventurer; and Golda Meir, government. Almost all were criticized for what was then considered unorthodox behaviors for women. Mata Hari, spy, and Tokyo Rose, radio propagandist, were infamous and not role models like the first four.

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Roosevelt’s fame began as the wife of a president, but she became known through her own efforts to improve the lives of others. I wanted to be her — not as a wife of somebody famous, but as a woman who did good things for my fellow humans. Oh, how glad I was that times began to change when Meir became Israel’s leader.

The home of the alderman from the district in which I lived was across the street from my brownstone apartment. I often watched him leave his house, briefcase in hand, and wished that I could be an alderman, too. It was wishing in vain then; all the aldermen were ... well ... men. I was a girl. Who would elect me? I found out in my 60s that, not only could I get elected councilwoman in my city, I could get elected mayor.

I idolized Amelia Earhart for having adventures that I could experience only in my dreams and in books.

My other idol was “The Babe” for being an athlete in what was then mostly a man’s sport and for tolerating the flak she got for being athletic. When Babe Didrikson Zaharias became a famous golfer, her husband often was interviewed and much was made of his letting her have a career in sports instead of focusing on homemaking. Stories circulated that she was not considered feminine because she was athletic. When I played high school basketball, it was thought that girls were not strong enough to run a full court; stepping over the centerline was a foul. Clad in our bloomer-bottomed, one-piece gym suits, three girls were forwards and played on one side of the court; three were guards who played on the other side of the court to guard the opposing team’s forwards. Today’s young women think our game style was a joke; they can excel at any sport they choose.

Although women have come a long way since my childhood, not all women are famous nor do all get honored despite their significant contributions to herstory and history. To name a few: Mothers who, despite sleep deprivation, enjoy baby’s 2 a.m. feedings; women who become family caregivers; women who balance jobs, family life and volunteering to better our communities; widows who shed tears while standing before Fort Sam Houston Cemetery gravestones. Happy Women’s Herstory Month to all women who struggle, survive, achieve and then mentor and inspire the rest of us to do likewise.